Beauty vs. Brains

May 11, 2009

HOW FAR WILL YOUR LOOKS GET YOU? A RECENT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDY SAYS IT COULD HELP YOU SCORE THE JOB AND EARN THE MONEY YOU’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF.

OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, RESEARCHERS STUDIED NEARLY 200 INDIVIDUALS AND FOUND THAT WHILE INTELLIGENCE IS STILL TWICE AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE… YOUR OUTER BEAUTY STILL PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN THE REAL WORLD. BUT, EXPERTS SAY LOOKS MAY ALSO ONLY GET YOU SO FAR.

Lauren Simon/UF Marketing Graduate Student: “People who are intelligent and attractive obtain more education and are more confident. People who are intelligent perform also tend to perform better on the job, and we can’t say the necessarily say the same for those who are physically attractive.”

THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT SOME EMPLOYERS DO HAVE BIASES TOWARD THOSE WHO ARE PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE. AND RESEARCHERS SAY THERE’S NOT MUCH WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

Lauren Simon/UF Marketing Graduate Student: “Even if we were to recommend to employers to stop or to be careful when they’re selecting employees… Because to the extent that they are biased toward the attractive… It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to get the most qualified candidate from picking the more attractive candidate.”

PAST RESEARCH ALSO SUGGESTS THAT PARENTS AND TEACHERS FAVOR BETTER LOOKING CHILDREN.

SO, WHETHER OR NOT WE LIKE IT… WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE WILL PLAY A ROLE ON INTERVIEW DAY, AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS REALLY DO MATTER. AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, I’M MERISSA RICHMOND.